The Smouldering Earthbender
by MasterW
Summary: A normal earthbender of the earth kingdom discovered something, a power that no one else has seen. Now, he wants to find answers as to why he has this unique power that gave him a tough live. Maybe he will find answers traveling with the avatar. Maybe he will find something else during his journey.
1. Chapter 1: Kyoshi Island

**Chapter 1: Kyoshi Island**

**Chapter 1: Kyoshi Island**

In the middle of the night, a small kid, no older than 12, woke up sweating and breathing heavily. He cleaned the sweat on his face and stood on the small boat he obtained in the last port he visited.

He had black hair tied in a small ponytail and pale skin. His eyes showed lack of sleep and complete sadness, some dried tears on his cheek.

He looked to the water around him, nothing else in the distance.

He thought about the nightmare he just had, every night, since that day, he has been dreaming the same.

He dreamed about burning his loves one, the people he considered friends, everyone burn to nothing thanks to his power.

His cursed power.

* * *

**One Year Ago**

"Qishi, wake up, you are gonna be late for your practice!" A voice called from a kitchen downstairs.

On the second floor of the house, a small kid woke up, his face had an annoyed expression.

"Coming!" Qishi quickly stood and used the stairs to get to the dinner room, he wore his black and green pyjamas with naked feet feeling the cold ground.

"Eat quickly or you are gonna be late" His mother told him.

"Yes mom" He happily replied.

It has been 2 years since Qishi discovered he was an earthbender. In his town, there was a small school with kids that had similar abilities to him. He has been going there by petition of the earthbender master, who saw potential on the kid. His parents happily obliged and enrolled their son to the school.

"Done" Qishi ate his breakfast and walked towards to his room to change to his uniform.

Black and Green robes, easy to take out with dark green bandages on his wrist and legs. The symbol of Earth sewed in the heart and back of the robes. White big pants not so long that reached his knee.

He happily jumped to the front door and moved towards the streets.

"I am going mom, see you later"

"Bye sweetie" His mom cheered from the living room where she was reading her book. "Don't forget to say goodbye to your father"

"Sure" He quickly went to a small altar with the portrait of a man with big beard and a wide smile "Goodbye dad" He joined his hands on a praying motion. Before smiling "I will see you later"

His father died from a disease a year ago, he was a retired warrior of the earth kingdom who went to this town to live the rest of his live. Here he met his mother, Lin. The two fell in love and that love brought Qishi, their son, to live.

Qishi went out of the house and walked towards his school with a smile on his face.

Little did he know, that this day will change everything on his life.

* * *

"Now students, practice the earth fracturing attack" Their teacher spoke

After a long day of physical exercises and basic earthbending techniques, the teacher decided to change the exercise to one more advanced.

Each student smiled with glee at the new exercise they could practice. It consisted in launching tectonic energy inside the earth towards a target, in the process, the earth that transmits the tectonic wave breaks showing small crack in the direction of the attack. It may sound complicated, but for earthbenders, it was an intermedium attack.

Everyone started practicing the attack at their own pace. Qishi followed the instructions and executed the attack towards the practice targets.

As he did the exercise, he felt something different on the earth, something calling for him. He tried to ignore the feeling, but it bothered him, he has been feeling something like this before, but he never felt it so big, and tempting.

Deciding to satisfy his curiosity, he started moving his senses to the strange feeling, his feet touching the earth and his eyes closed. The more he moved to the feeling, the more he felt closer to that something. He didn't know what he was feeling, but he felt attracted to it.

"Student Qishi" The teacher called for him, only to be ignored "Why did you stopped your exercises?"

Qishi didn't reply, as his mind was elsewhere.

Suddenly, Qishi placed his hands in the ground. The earth in front of him started turning red. A hot sensation came from the earth in front of him.

It was lava.

The earth in front of Qishi turned into smouldering embers. Everyone watched fearful of this. Nobody has seen anything like this before, the amount of heat generated made everyone walk away from Qishi, watching him with fear and surprisingly, hate.

Qishi opened his eyes, a shocked expression appeared on his face as he stared to the lava in from of him.

"I…. did that?!" Qishi shouted

"Yes, you did" The teacher spoke "You heretic"

"I did-what?" Qishi's cheerful expression changed to one of confusion as he turned to his teacher "Heretic? Me?"

"Who else but a heretic could bend such abominable thing like that?!" He pointed to the lava still burning in the ground "What kind of evil spirit could do anything like that?"

"Evil spirit?! What are you talking about?!" Qishi shouted back "I was just feeling something, and it turned like that, it was an accident"

"Yeah sure, an accident" The teacher said with sarcasm "And burning all of us with your demonic powers is also an accident, correct?"

"Burning all of you? What are you talking about?!" Qishi shouted back

"Of course, you would act innocent" The teacher stood in an earthbending stance "Get out of here, you are banned from this school of earthbending, if you ever come close to this sacred place again, I will make sure to end your life"

"Why?! I just bended some-" "Silence" The teacher stomped the ground and a pillar of earth appeared, throwing Qishi to the ground.

Qishi stared to the teacher and his fellow students, who showed the same expression of fearfulness and aggressiveness.

Qishi with no other option, ran to his home while crying.

* * *

**Present**

From that day on, Qishi's problem just grew, the rumour of what Qishi did extended to everyone on the town, his compassionate mother tried to protect him, to no avail.

Everyone turned worse when their started calling his mother the progenitor of the heretic and started attacking her too. Qishi ran from home to protect her, the only one that truly cared for him when everyone else didn't.

He in his travels made money by working to merchants and store owner, all done to the purpose of finding answers.

He wants to find the reason of his bending, the answers to why he can bend lava and others don't.

During his travels, he found about the avatars, more specially, the avatar Kyoshi, who is known for bending lava to separate and create an entire island by herself.

That information quickly directed Qishi towards the Kyoshi Island.

And now, he is on his way to that island.

He took a deep breath and released it, trying to calm his emotions.

Suddenly, his boat was shake by something, it wasn't the waves as the sea was calm, it was something else.

He looked to the sea and he couldn't see anything thanks to the darkness below him.

But suddenly, a dark spot appeared not so far from him. From the spot emerged a large sea serpent with dark grey skin and no scales.

Qishi stood motionless, afraid of the creature that appeared in from of him.

As the creature lunged to bite the boat. Qishi jumped towards the sea. From a simple bite, half the boat was eaten by the creature. That roared and turned back to the sea.

Qishi on the other hand, arrived at the beach unconscious.

6 figures appeared around him in the middle of the night.

* * *

"HUH!" Qishi woke up screaming at the top of his lungs. He winced as he felt a pain on his side, finding a bandage on his torso. "Wha-" "Finally" A voice stopped him from speaking his thoughts.

"We have been waiting patiently for you to wake up" A woman's voice spoke beside him, turning, he saw a girl dressed in dark green armour and face covered in heavy makeup.

"Who are you?" Qishi asked

"That's the questions I should be asking" She snapped her fingers and a couple of women instantly surrounded the boy. "Are you a spy? What are is purpose here?"

"Spy?" Qishi showed a confused expression "What are you talking about? Where am I?"

"You are in Kyoshi Island, but I think you already knew that, what other reason do you have to come here"

"Kyoshi Island?" Qishi repeated the word on his head. Suddenly, he stood and his full height pumping his fist on the air "I made it, I am finally here! Ouch!" He rubbed his injured side before turning to the girl beside him "You must be a Kyoshi warrior, right?"

"Yes" She spoke in an emotionless tone

"Look, I am not a spy, I came here looking for answers"

"Answers? Of what?"

"It is better if I show you, you would believe it if I told you"

She narrowed her eyes to the boy and then she spoke "Try anything funny and you will pay the consequences"

"Sure"

After walking for a short time to an empty space beside the town, the Kyoshi warriors stood alert to any sudden movements of the stranger.

"You see" Qishi spoke "I am an earthbender" He stomped the ground and a pillar appeared. The Kyoshi warriors quickly moved to attack but where stopped by their leader.

"So, you are an earthbender" The leader of the Kyoshi warriors spoke "That doesn't explain what your purpose here is"

"I was getting to that" He replied, "One day, I discovered I could do this" He moved his hand downwards making the pillar of earth disappear. Then, he stomped the ground, this time a circular portion of the ground started changing to red and released a warm sensation. The circular area he was bending turned into magma that he moved with his hand in a linear attack.

All of the Kyoshi warrior watched with a surprised expression.

Qishi stopped bending and changing his hands to fist, the lava turned back to rock.

"You can…" The leader of the Kyoshi warrior trailed off.

"Lavabend" He finished "That is one of the reasons why I am here. After discovering about this power, I decided to travel and find answers. In my travels in found that the avatar that founded this island, the avatar Kyoshi, could bend lava like I did"

"Avatar Kyoshi is known for bending lava yes" The leader of the Kyoshi warriors stated.

Qishi suddenly kneeled in front of the Kyoshi warriors with his head down. "Please, I have been looking for a long time for answers. Let me stay here, I beg you"

The leader of the Kyoshi warrior looked to the boy, her stern glare turned sympathetic hearing to the almost cracking and desperate in which he spoke. She walked towards the boy and kneeled to his height in front of him, her hand touching his shoulder.

"I understand you have been through a lot to come here" She nodded "You can stay here with us"

Qishi's eyes released tears by the happiness he felt. "Thank you so much!" He hugged the girl with all his strength, to the girl's disdain. Qishi's eyes widened as he noticed something and released the girl on his arms "I haven't presented myself; my name is Qishi, nice to meet you" He extended his arm to her

"Suki, nice to meet you too" Suki shook his hand with a smile on her face.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting the Avatar

**Chapter 2: Meeting the Avatar**

**Three Years Later**

Qishi stretched his muscles after a long night of sleep. He has been living in Kyoshi Island for three years now. The villagers at first were sceptic about his sudden appearance, but after some time they warmed up for him, accepting him as one of their own.

The fact that he was an earthbender made him helpful to the village. Moving rocks and small hills that were close helped the village grow in size and inhabitants. A small village turned into a medium-sized one.

More importantly, the chief of the village, Oyaji, hired Qishi as his personal bodyguard. An easy job thanks to the peace that reigned the island. Nonetheless, he also used Qishi as his secretary, helping him organize the paperwork.

Apart from that, Qishi found warm in the Kyoshi warrior who accepted him and trained him in the arts of combat, although, dressing as a woman was a weird experience.

His earthbender grew thanks to his constant practice, he also practiced his lavabending to master it in case he had to use it. His physical strength grew with his body as his physical exercise helped him develop a thin but packed build.

His appearance also changed as he cut his long hair into short, his pale skin continued on his face as his baby fat and childish appearance turned into a sharp one thanks to his physical training.

'_Good thing this is my day-off, better walk around town to stretch my muscles' _He thought while changing from his pyjamas into brown pants with dark brown boots, a large dark green cloth he used as a belt with a coat of green and yellow on top of a forest green shirt. He adjusted his belt and started walking to the door of his house and moved towards the village. There he was received by the villagers setting their store and walking around in the morning.

"Good morning Qishi" A villager greeted the earthbender.

"Morning" Qishi greeted back

"Qishi!" A small girl ran to the earthbender a couple more followed behind.

"Hi girls" Qishi greeted the small girls of the village. Unlike the adults, the kids of the village greeted Qishi with happiness, and the fact that he was an earthbender with cool tricks made him popular with the children.

"Qishi, do you have new tricks?! Can you show us?! Please, Please, Please?!" The kids cheered

"Fine" He held his hand to the ground. Small rocks fractured from the ground to Qishi's hand. He crushed the rock in his hand and started shaking it. He then blew air into his hand and opened it to the kids.

In his hand was a very detailed sculpture of a small serpentine dragon with horns and claws. He kids' eyes shinned with enthusiasm as he handed the sculpture to the little girl in front of him.

"Don't break it" He ruffled the little girl's hair and walked away as the kids grouped around the sculpture.

"Very nice with the kids, aren't you?" A voice sounded from beside him. Turning he saw the armour wearing soldiers of the island doing their daily patrol.

"Well, someone has to entertain them, although, I am running out of tricks, I need to come with new ones if I want to do the "Daily entertained" for the kids"

"Good luck"

"Thanks, I think I will need it" Qishi scratched the back of his head and turned to other direction "Be seen you, later" He waved as he walked away from the village

"See you later" Suki waved back

* * *

Some distance away from the village was Qishi's training side. When he arrived, he stated that he will need a place to train both his earthbending and lavabending. So, Suki suggested a plain land that was a good distance away from the island for his training.

Years of earthbending and lavabending training made this place look like a rocky hill. Big portions of uneven elevations around and big rock from side to side of the place. There was also marks of dry lava around, although those were less than the ones of earth.

"Ok, let's begin low" He stomped the ground and a wall of earth emerged from the ground. He punched the upper part of the wall with his fist and it flew away towards another wall of earth. He kicked the middle part of the wall and the same happened.

With the lower part he shook his hand and it started levitating, the part of the wall of earth started transforming into a spear that he threw away.

The spear of earth ended impaled in a wall.

He then stomped the ground 3 times and 3 pillars of earth appeared around him. Widening his arms, the pillars started moving towards different directions.

Making a rotating motion with his hand the pillars did the same rotating around him until he stopped the motion.

He punched and kicked the pillars breaking them into sand and started handling the sand he clenched his fist and the sand started compressing into small rocks that he moved around him and threw them in all directions pierced through the earth around him.

He continued doing earthbending changing his stances from time to time and changing the magnitude of the earth he moved. He then stopped and destroyed the earth protuberances he left around him. With his hand he cleaned the sweat that was on his forehead and then closed his eyes.

"Good warm-up. Let's get to the other thing" He relaxed his muscles and took a deep breath. With his eyes closed he jumped onwards and stomped with his feet the ground. The ground before him turned red and black as he changed the earth into magma. He raised his hand and a pillar of magma erupted from the ground. He then raised his leg and a ball of burning magma levitated. With his hand he pushed the ball of magma forward, the ball crashed away a big rock and left a burning mark. He stared doing the same, practicing his precision throwing ball of magmas to all the directions he wished.

After finishing the exercise, he turned his hand into a fist and the magma dried turning into rock.

He breathed as he nodded, satisfied by his progress, from his pocket he took out a notebook and a pencil and started drawing the motion he just realized with his lavabending powers.

After reviewing his notes, he pocketed the notebook and moved towards the village.

* * *

Arriving to the village he walked towards the Kyoshi warriors' dojo and watched as they practiced their fighting stances in perfect synchrony.

"Hi girls" Qishi appeared in the door of the dojo.

Noticing his presence, they stopped for a small rest as Suki walked towards the boy while the girls waved to the boy and moved into small chattering groups. Qishi started taking off his boots and entered the dojo.

"You finished your practice?"

"Yep, just finished, came here to make some tea for the group"

"Don't worry, we will drink tea after the practice, how about you join us instead?" Suki asked

"Please, we both know who would win between the two of us" Qishi teased

"Oh yeah?" And who might that be?"

"Well, me of course" He showed a mocking smile to the girl

"Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that and it might come true" Suki teased the boy while using her fan.

Suddenly, from the door came another one of the Kyoshi warriors that was making patrol around the beach. Everyone turned to her.

"There are suspicious people on the beach, probably arrived not so long ago!" She shouted

"What?!" Suki shouted "Kyoshi warriors! Move!" She turned to Qishi who has sitting putting his boots on. "Coming with us?"

"Of course!"

After arriving quickly to the coast, the Kyoshi warriors plus Qishi saw a group of 3 kids, one was a bald kid with an arrow tattoo on his head and arms. The other were two kids with tanned skin and similar blue clothing, probably brother and sister. Around them a big horned creature with white fur and a brown arrow similar to the one of kid was resting.

The kid had just crashed against the tanned against the elder male.

Qishi turned to the leader and whispered _"I will disable their feet with my earthbending, you capture them"_

Suki nodded and motioned to the other warriors to be prepared to ambush them.

"What was that thing?!" The tanned skin girl asked.

"I don't know" The bald kid calmly replied

"Well, let's not stick around to find out. Time to hit the road." The tanned skin boy ordered.

Qishi took this chance and raised his hands.

The ground below the kids raised a little catching their feet in an earth construct. The Kyoshi warriors jumped immediately, tied the kids with ropes and with cloth they blinded the kids.

Qishi undid the binding on their feet and the kids fell to the ground.

"Okay, maybe we could stay here for a while" The tanned skin boy spoke

* * *

In the village, the three kids were tied to the statue of Kyoshi at the entrance. The Kyoshi warriors surround them with the chief of the village in front and Qishi beside him.

"You own us an explanation, kids" The chief spoke

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we will throw you back to the sea with the Unagi" Suki continued

"Unagi, if you didn't know, is the giant serpent thing that you agitated, I think his hunger is greater this time of the year"

"Show yourselves, cowards!" The tanned skin boy spoke. Suki decided to oblige and took their blindfolds.

"Who are you? Where are the men that trapped us here?" He then turned to Qishi who had his arms crossed "You must be the warrior of this town, right? Can you tell these women to untie us, please?"

Qishi's eye twitched a little as he heard the boy "I am a warrior of this town, yes" He pointed to the Kyoshi warriors beside him "But they are the true warriors and the ones that trapped you there"

"Ha, like a group of women could trap us" The tanned boy laughed

Qishi's eye visible twitched as his anger skyrocketed "Can I hit him?"

"Tempting but no" Suki spoke "I think the Unagi will eat well tonight"

"Wait, don't hurt him, he didn't mean that" The tanned girl quickly replied "He can be an idiot sometimes"

"Sometimes?" Qishi raised his eyebrow

"Well, most of the time"

"Hey, I am right here!"

"It is all my fault" The bald kid joined the conversation "I am sorry for coming here, I just wanted to ride the elephant koi"

"How do we now you aren't fire nation spies" The chief pointed to the group "Kyoshi island stayed away from the war a long time ago and we would like to keep it that way"

"This island has the name of Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!" The bald kid cheered

Qishi's eyes widened as he stared to the kid "He…. He isn't lying" Suki turned to the boy with her eyes widened.

"How could you know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born about 400 years ago. She has been dead for centuries"

"I know her because, I am the Avatar" The bald kid spoke.

Qishi's eyes widened as he stared to the kid, for some reason his breathing stopped as he repeated the boy's words on his head.

"That's impossible, the last Avatar was an airbender that disappeared one hundred years ago"

"That's me!" The bald kid cheered

"Throw the impostor to the Unagi!" The chief

"Good" The Kyoshi warriors prepare to attack but were stopped when Qishi stood in the middle of the two.

"Wait!" Qishi shouted, the Kyoshi warriors stopped as the boy turned to the bald kid "Can you prove it? Can you prove that you are the Avatar?"

"Of course," The kid jumped with a gust of wind and floated in the air.

Everyone's jaw dropped as the kid landed on the ground.

Qishi on the other hand, stood motionless looking to the kid, a tear fell from his cheek to the ground, something both Suki and the tanned girl noted. Suki understood the reason, but the tanned girl didn't.

"It is true, you are the Avatar!" The chief shouted in surprise.

"Now check this out!" The kid took three balls from his coat and started rotating them in his hand.

Most of the villagers cheered looking to the kid do the trick in his hand, one even turned into a screaming fit and started foaming at the mouth before fainting and falling to the ground.

"I still can't believe I dated that guy" Suki said looked to the fainted man

"The Avatar…. The Avatar is here" Qishi mumbled

* * *

The news of the Avatar being in Kyoshi spread on the entire island. Even to celebrate, the statue of the Avatar Kyoshi was being renew.

The group presented themselves as the bald kid and Avatar was Aang, the tanned girl was Katara and lastly, the tanned boy was Sokka.

Now the Avatar's group sat in the second floor of the main house with a full banquet of sweets placed in the table before them.

In the same room was Qishi, who was assigned to guide the Avatar group in the island and act as their bodyguard.

"Great, desserts for breakfast!" The bald kid cheered as he stared to the food placed before him "This people really know how to treat an Avatar!" He instantly started devouring the food in front of him. "Katara, you need to try this!" He handed a muffin to the girl beside him

"Okay maybe just a little"

As they ate, the small creature with white fur stole food from the table.

Qishi who noted this took a plate and stared feeding it.

"What is this creature?" Qishi asked

"That's Momo, he is a winged lemur" Aang replied

"Interesting, I have never seen one creature like this before" He carefully stroked the animal's head "And the big one outside?"

"That's Appa, he is a sky bison"

"Sky bison?! It can fly?!" Qishi inquired

"Yeah, I didn't believe it at first, but it can" Katara replied

"Awesome!" Qishi then continued to pet Momo "After you are done eating, I will give you a tour around"

"Sure" Aang then turned to Sokka who was grumbling in the corner of the room "Why aren't you eating Sokka?"

"I am not hungry"

"But you are always hungry" Aang raised his eyebrow

"He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt, isn't it?" Katara teased

"Welcome to the club" Qishi said

"What do you mean? You were beaten by them too?" Sokka asked

"Well, yeah, hundreds of times" Qishi shrugged "I mean, what do you expect? These are the Kyoshi warriors we are talking about"

"Are they that important?" Katara asked

"They were created by the Avatar Kyoshi herself centuries ago, every one of them is trained from childhood to become fierce warriors"

"That sounds interesting" Katara nodded

"That sounds dumb, I am out of here!" Sokka took a handful of food and walked out of the room.

"Why is he so angry? We are treated like kings here!" Aang cheered

"Don't get yourself comfortable, it is risky to stay in one place for a long time" Katara replied

"We will be okay, besides, haven't you seen how happy we made this town?" Aang asked "They are even renewing the statue in my honour"

"I like that you are being treated well for being the Avatar, but let it get into your head"

"Come on, you know me, I am just a simple monk" He leaned to the window and saw the girls of the town cheering for him. He smiled at the sight while Katara stuck out her tongue.

"*COUGH*" Behind, Qishi faked a cough to call their attention "Are you ready for the tour?"

"Oh, sure" Katara nodded

"Follow me then" He stood and guided them out of the house.

* * *

He guided them towards the touristic sides of the island, a waterfall, the river, etc. The only thing interesting that happened was Aang being persecuted by his new fangirls and him being painted in from of the river.

Finally, Qishi guided them towards an enormous rice field.

"And this is the pride of Kyoshi island, the rice fields!"

"Whoa, it is so big"

"Welcome to the rice fields, motherfuckers!"

They turned to see a man with a conical hat made of bamboo kneeling while picking the rice with his hands.

"Who is that?" Aang asked "And why is he so hostile?"

"That is Ochin, you can call him the town's crazy, he greets everyone that comes around here like that, but he is also the owner of most of this rice fields. He is known as the ricebender, the most powerful bender in the world. It is said that every Avatar that have fought against a ricebender has lost"

"Are you serious?" Aang raised his eyebrow

"Nah, just joking, but the rice that come from here is delicious. Just be sure not to mess with his rice, he gets a little aggressive when someone messes with his rice" For some reason, a chill ran through Qishi's spine

"What happened?" Katara inquired

"Just a bad memory" Qishi shook his head and turned to the two "Well, that concludes all, let's go back to the village"

"Thanks, Qishi. You were of great help" Aang thanked him

"That was nothing, I was just guiding you through the village" Qishi then looked to the sky, the sun was setting and the sky turning dark "Let's go back to the village before night"

"Sure"

* * *

**Next day**

The next day was greeted by the morning sun. Everyone started the day with a newfound cheerfulness, all thanks to the Avatar that appeared and arrived the day before.

After his morning stretches, Qishi got out of his house and walked towards the town.

Aang has been very active playing around with the children of the town, much to Katara's annoyance, something that Qishi noted.

In the town, he found Katara saving supplies in a basket while Aang played with the children. Qishi decided to help Katara with the supplies.

"Morning Katara" He greeted

"Morning Qishi" She greeted back with a smile

"Mind if I help you with those" He asked

"I don't mind"

Qishi then started helping Katara pack the things in the jars she brought. Katara stole occasional glances to Qishi, something he obviously noted.

"What?" He asked

"Are you the earthbender that trapped our legs the day we arrive here?"

"Yeah, sorry about that"

"No, it is no problem at all, I was just curious" She then took her canteen and started moving water in her hand "I am a bender too, a waterbender"

"Huh?" He looked interested as she returned the water to her canteen "Interesting, I have met other earthbender, but I haven't met a waterbender, how does controlling water feels?"

"Well, it is like an extension of yourself, it feels light, but at the same time heavy. How does controlling earth feels?"

"Heavy, most of the time heavy" Qishi explained "Sometime you feel like you are carrying a giant boulder in your shoulders, that's why most of the earthbender develop strong physiques"

"Katara, Qishi" From behind, Aang greeted them

"Hello Aang" Qishi saluted the Avatar

"Hey Aang, wanna help us carry the supplies back to the room?"

"Actually, I can't right now" Aang replied

"What do you mean, "you can't?""

"I promised the girls I'd give them a ride on Appa. Why don't you come with us? It'll be fun!"

"Maybe later" Qishi replied

"Watching you show off for a bunch of girls does not sound like fun" Katara continued filling the jar with food.

"Well, neither does carrying your jar"

"This isn't my jar. These supplies are for our trip. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon"

"I don't want to leave Kyoshi yet. I can't put my finger on it" Aang puts his hands to his chin in a thinking position.

Qishi looked behind Aang to see the children of the village waiting for him "I think I know why" He muttered

"But there's something I really like about this place" Aang finished

"What's taking you so long, Aangy?" From behind, one of the girls, called

"Just a second, Koko!" Aang replied

""Simple monk", huh?" Katara sarcastically replied. Her face then changed into one of annoyance "I thought you promised me that this Avatar stuff wouldn't go to your head"

"It didn't. You know what I think? You just don't want to come because you are jealous"

"Jealous?! Of what?!"

"Jealous that we're having so much fun without you"

Katara's face then turned to one of irritation "That's ridiculous"

"It is a little ridiculous, but I understand"

Katara stood in front of Aang, towering over him with her hands on her sides. She resigns of doing whatever she was going to do and walks away "Let's go Qishi"

"Sorry Aang" Qishi quickly followed

The two then started walking to the house where the Avatar's group stayed. Katara on the way there complained about Aang being immature and acting like a kid. Qishi understood she was just releasing her anger, so he stayed silent during the whole trip.

Arriving to their room, Katara placed their things away and turned to Qishi

"Sorry you had to hear my complains, Qishi" Katara apologize "It is just that Aang acts like a kid sometimes, and angers me that he doesn't notices it"

"Don't worry Katara, I understand" Qishi placed the things there and turned to leave when Katara stopped him

"Wait"

"Huh?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Ummm…...Sure"

"Why you were crying when Aang revealed he was the Avatar"

"Oh, you noticed…" He stood silent for a moment before speaking "It is part of the reason I came here"

"The reason you came here?"

"You see, I came here three years ago to find answers, answers about my bending"

"What is wrong with your bending?"

"Nothing is wrong with my bending, it is what I can do with it" He then turned to the statue of the Avatar Kyoshi "I came here because and Avatar created this island, and I thought maybe I could find some answers. Turn outs, there wasn't any, all the information here didn't work for me, so there was only one thing left"

"The Avatar" Katara stated

"Exactly" He released a sad breath as he looked to the ground "The Avatar disappeared a hundred years ago, I thought that someday, he would return, and that he could help me find the answers I was looking for. I stayed here for three years, waiting for the Avatar to appear, and now that he is here, I can't help but feel happy" His sad face turned into a smile "That he is here means that I could find the answers with his help, that I could finally find a reason"

"So what answers are you looking for?"

"Well…... it's complicated, I will tell you with time, just, not now okay?"

"Umm… Sure" She nodded.

"Well, I will see how are the Kyoshi warriors doing" He walked out of the room.

* * *

"Do I really have to wear this? It feels a little…... girly" Sokka complained

In the Kyoshi warriors' dojo, Sokka, after asking for trained to Suki. The Kyoshi warriors' leader accepted with the condition that Sokka needed to follow the Kyoshi warriors' traditions. So now Sokka was dressed as a woman with the makeup and armour of the Kyoshi warriors, much to his disdain.

"It's a warrior's uniform, you should be proud" Suki replied "The silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honour of the warrior's heart"

"Bravery and honour" Sokka replied

"Hey Sokka" From the door, Aang appeared wearing his typical childish smile "Nice dress"

"Ugh" Sokka groaned as Aang disappeared from the view

"Don't worry, I feel your pain" Another voice popped out as the two turned to Qishi who was taking his boots and entering the dojo "I also had to dress like that when they were training me"

"You were trained too?"

"Yep, one of our best" Suki proudly replied

"Apart from the embarrassment of wearing that, it is quite comfortable to the legs"

"Now that you said it, it is" Sokka looked down to his dress and moved around feeling the liberty in his pants.

"Enough distractions" Suki clapped her hands "Let's begin our training"

* * *

On the shore, a ship landed releasing a ramp from which fire nation soldiers mounted on Komodo rhinos, with a teenager with a scar on his left eye on the front.

He was the prince of the fire nation, Zuko.

"I want the Avatar alive" Prince Zuko spoke.

He and his men started moving towards the village.

Close to the shore, Katara held and unconscious Aang on her arms. He tried to ride the Unagi to impress the girls, obviously didn't work.

Katara protectively covers the body of the still unconscious Aang, while worriedly looking up and hearing the riders move past. When she is certain the riders have past, Katara lays Aang on his back.

"Wake up, Aang!" She worriedly said. She looks around for a while before starting to move her left hand over his chest, while supporting his head with her right. She moves her hand from his chest to his mouth and bends out the water he had swallowed.

Aang coughed as his lung were cleaned and spoke in a weakened tone "Katara…don't ride Unagi. Not fun"

* * *

Back to the village, the fire nation soldiers stood there in front of the deserted main street of the village. Zuko and three other soldiers mounted on Komodo rhinos are standing at the base of the Kyoshi statue, staring to the empty street of the village.

"Come out, Avatar!" Zuko shouted "You can't hide from me forever!" He then turned to his soldiers "Find him" He commanded

Just as the rider moved forward, a wall of earth appeared, stopping him from moving forward.

The wall descended to the ground and showed Qishi standing there with his arms closed.

"I am sorry, but Kyoshi Island is close today" He stated "The Avatar isn't here, so how about you come back, I don't know…...never"

"Move, or you will be moved"

"Make me"

"Kill him!"

The fire soldiers attacked launching fire to him. Qishi defended with a wall of earth. After the attack Qishi used his fist to punch the wall. The upper and middle part of the wall was launched towards the firebenders making them fall unconscious.

Qishi then stomped the ground making the earth beneath the rhinos turned into quicksand and ended burying their foots. As the firebenders on top of the rhinos fell to the ground, some were knocked by the fall, other were just injured. The Kyoshi warriors appeared from the rooftops and started fighting them. Zuko went directly to Qishi and threw a fireball which Qishi defended from using a pillar of earth. He broke the pillar into small rock and threw them into Zuko.

Zuko was hit by a couple of the rocks and thrown away by the impact.

Sokka, still dressed as a Kyoshi warrior stared to Qishi with widened eyes "Dude, you are an earthbender?"

Qishi's face showed confusion as he turned to the boy "I thought you guys already knew"

"How could we know?!"

"Who do you think trapped your legs with earth"

"It was you?! I thought it was one of the Kyoshi warrior" Sokka then crossed his arms "Not cool man. I still have sore heels"

"Sorry" He then evaded a fire attack launched by Zuko "Let's get rid of these guys first and then we can continue this conversation"

"Alright" Sokka returned to his battle.

"Then, how about I give you the royal treatment?" Qishi flicked his arm upwards and a pillar rose from the ground a hit Zuko on the face. He then flicked the same arm sideways and from the pillar came another small pillar that hit the prince on the stomach. Moving his arm backwards a pillar appeared behind Zuko hitting him on the back and making him fall to his knees on the ground.

Clenching his two arms into fist the earth beneath Zuko turned into quicksand and trapped both arms and legs.

"Retreat, Retreat" A fine nation soldier shouted as they mounted the released rhinos and retreated back to the boat.

The prince Zuko released himself from the quicksand by propelling himself with fire and gave a glare to the earthbender before mounting with Komodo rhino "This isn't over, you hear me, this isn't over!" He then rode away in his rhino.

"Well, now that this is over" He turned to Sokka "I suggest you find your friends a get out of here as fast as possible.

"Yeah, hope we met again"

"About that…."

"Huh?"

* * *

"The fire nation retreated, but we need to continue our journey" Katara stated as she packed her things on Appa's saddle.

"Yeah, it was fun, but you were right, we can't stay in one place for long" Aang replied

"Don't forget about me!" Sokka shouted as he appeared dressed in his normal clothes.

After the fire nation's soldiers retreated, Aang and Katara arrived at the village only to find it almost intact.

Sokka quickly told Katara and Aang that the Kyoshi warriors defeated the firebenders and made them retreat. The girl quickly told Aang to pack everything to leave the village.

Many of the villagers were there to say their farewells to the Avatar.

"We were grateful of your visit. We hope that you complete your journey safety" The chief spoke.

"Thanks for your kindness chief Oyaji, we will continue our journey immediately" Aang replied

"Of course," The chief nodded "Safe travels, young Avatar and friends"

"Thanks" Katara appreciated the kindness.

"Wait!" Sokka shouted "I have a surprise for you guys"

"What is it Sokka?"

"Let's just say, I added a new integrant to the group"

"What do you mean?"

"Hey" From the crowd, a voice called. Turning, everyone saw Qishi with a sac on his back. The crowd split in half to let the earthbender pass through, he arrived in front of the sky bison and stroked its white fur with his hand "Do you have any space for an earthbender?"

"Wait, you are an earthbender?!" Aang asked

"Who do you think trapped your feet when you arrived here?"

"I thought it was a Kyoshi warrior!" Aang shouted

"Me too" Sokka reprised.

Qishi released a small chuckle and turned to the Avatar "So, can I go with you?"

"Of course! Get in" He nodded with a smile.

He jumped to the saddle on top of Appa's back and turned to the villagers "Goodbye everyone, thanks for everything you have done for me. I will come back here when everything is over"

"Safe travels!"

"Take care of yourself!"

"Go kick some fire nation's ass!"

Many of the villagers, including the Kyoshi warriors, Suki and the chief cheered to Qishi as he waved back to everyone.

"Yip Yip" Aang said as Appa started flying.

"This animal does fly!" Qishi looked to the ground that turned more and more distant.

Not so far from there, a fire nation battleship was stationed. Zuko, on the deck watched with a telescope as the bison flew away.

"There it is, follow him!"

"Sir, we lost two men on the battle" A soldier informed the prince

"It doesn't matter, move!"

* * *

In the island, two fire soldiers panted as they rested on the floor.

"We managed to escape" One of the soldiers said

"Yeah" The other soldiers stood and looked around he was in a rice field. The soldier extended his hand and grabbed some of rice around him "Hey Hong, look, it is rice" He received no answer "Hong?" He turned and saw nothing. From behind, a shadow towered the fire soldier. The fire soldier fell to the ground unconscious without knowing what hit him.

"Welcome to the rice fields, motherfuckers"

* * *

Back with Avatar's group. Qishi felt a chill run through his spine as he turned to the island

"What's the matter?" Katara asked their new teammate

"I don't know, I just felt a chill run through my body"

"Maybe it was nothing"

"Yeah"


	3. Chapter 3: King of Omashu

**Chapter 3: King of Omashu **

"The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!" Aang shouted as he stared to the big pyramid-shaped city.

After leaving from Kyoshi Island, Aang decide to visit the place that he used to visit when he was a kid, the city of Omashu.

And now, with Qishi on their group, they got down from Appa's saddle and followed the young avatar towards the city. Everyone stared impressed to the city.

"I used to always come here to visit my friend Bumi" Aang cheered

"Wait, Bumi?" Qishi asked

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, it sounds familiar for some reason" Qishi scratched his head

"Wow. We don't have buildings like this in the South Pole!" Katara exclaimed

"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka reprised

"Welcome to the Earth Kingdom" Qishi said from behind as he scratched Appa's ears. The bison started relaxing and leaning on the earthbender "Who is a good boy? ~" Qishi spoke in a childish tone as he continued to scratch Appa's ear

"Well let's go, slow pokes. The real fun's inside the city!" Aang excitedly jumped towards the city and slides in the snow downhill

"Wait, Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar" Katara said

"You need a disguise"

"So, what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?" Aang sarcastically asked.

"Actually" Qishi interjected as everyone turned to him "I got a better idea" He kneeled and then looked through his luggage and took some clothes. It was a small green robe and a bamboo hat "Here, I packed some clothes for you guys in cases like this" He threw the robes to Aang who catch it and started changing. "For you guys too" He threw another pair of robes to Katara and Sokka who started changing too.

After completely putting the green robes on, Aang looked to himself and noticed the robes were adequate for his small frame. Sokka felt the same too as he patted his torso and arms. Katara came from behind Appa with her knew clothes and spun a couple of times before smiling

"They are perfect!" Katara cheered "How did you know our measurements?"

"Oh, I asked the Kyoshi warriors to measure you while you were sleeping" He spoke in a casual tone as the three stood there frozen "What?"

"What?! Why would you do that?!" Katara shouted

"Because I planned to travel with you guys since the beginning, so I wanted to be prepared for everything"

"Then why didn't you ask us for our measurements first! We wouldn't have said no!"

"Because I wanted to see the expression you guys made when I told you how I got them" He showed an amused smile "It is funny screwing with people"

The three stood there motionless for a second before Sokka spoke "I am having second thoughts about him joining the group"

"Alright, sorry" He stood and dusted off his clothes "Let's just go to Omashu island"

"Do anything like this again and I will freeze your entire body and throw you to the ocean!" Katara shouted

"Yeah, sure"

* * *

The group then walked towards Omashu in their new clothes with Aang on the front.

"You guys are going to love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world" Aang started.

Not so far from there, the group saw how a gate guard shouted to a merchant with a cart of cabbages.

"Rotten cabbages?! What kind of slum do you think this is?!" The guard then earthbended the floor beneath the cart by emerging a rock and throwing the cabbage cart to the chasm beside the pathway

"No! My cabbages!" The owner of the cabbage cart cried in despair

"Very friendly" Qishi sarcastically said and then turned to the destroyed cabbages "Poor cabbages"

"Just keep smiling!" Aang smiled nervously as the rest followed

"Let me do the talking" Qishi interjected.

As the group walked to the door, the gate guard steps to the front and raises a boulder out of the ground before Aang and levitates it above his head. "State your business!"

Qishi walks in front of Aang and stares to the guard "We are just a group of travelers looking for a place to resupply, I promise we won't cause any trouble to such splendid city" He calmly spoke

The guard stared for a moment to the group, analyzing their clothing and faces. Seeing no problem, he lowered the boulder and nodded "You seem like a responsible young man, be sure to watch your friends here"

"I will"

The group walked towards the door as the earthbenders on top of the gate stomped at the same time. The giant earthen wall splits open in the middle of the emblem, opening up to let any passengers through. As the first wall slides open, a second and third are bent aside as well. Katara and Sokka looked in awe at the spectacle while Aang is smiling behind them, Qishi on the other hand analyzed the power behind the bending and nodded internally. They walk through as the walls already start to move again to close right after them.

Momo tries to come out of the bag Qishi was carrying but Qishi shoved its ears to the bottom of the bag.

The group stared to streets filled with people, around the city were an intricate system of chutes. The aqueduct like structures are built over and beside the houses with typical green roofs.

"This is the Omashu delivery system" Aang started "Miles and miles of tubes and chutes"

"A full city operated by earthbenders" Qishi stared in awe as the package and cart moved from place to place using the tubes and chutes "This is a first"

"That's right! Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down" Aang cheered "But my friend Bumi found a better use for the chutes"

"Let me guess" Qishi said "A slide"

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"Lucky guess" Qishi dismissed as Momo flew from his bad to Aang's shoulder "Sorry Aang, I was honest about resupplying, now that we are here, we can by a couple of food for the journey. I will find you guys later, don't cause much trouble" He walked away from the group

* * *

"Let's see, fruit, fresh water, dried meat, Jasmine leaves" Qishi inspected the bag with the items he just brought. "Everything good" He nodded. Walking through the city, he noted a group of earthbender practicing in a medium sized arena.

Qishi walked inside and stared to the earthbenders as they threw rock and giant boulder around.

"What are you doing here?" Suddenly, a manly voice shouted towards Qishi. He turned and saw a man with different uniform than the rest, probably of higher rank, big muscles and a black mustache with some grey hair then and there.

"I am sorry sir. I didn't mean to interrupt you training" Qishi apologized "I am an earthbender too, I just wanted to see how they bended"

"You are an earthbender?"

"Yes sir" Qishi then stomped the ground and a boulder flew up, he punched the boulder and launched it towards a wall.

"Hmm" The earthbender scratched his chin "You have a firm stance and good form"

"Thank you, sir," Qishi bowed "I am actually coming with a new style for my bending"

"A new style, huh? How about you show me?"

"Yes sir"

The earthbender signaled the guards in the arena to move. Qishi placed his stuff on the ground and took a stance. He squatted a little and extended his hand forward while the other was clenched into a fist and close to his torso. The earthbender noted the strange stance and immediately turned his full attention.

Qishi started moving with elaborate and extensive footwork, doing an acrobatic kick forward and then backflipping and punching the air in front of him.

The earthbender and many of the people watching noted the swiftness of his movement but at the same time the strength carried on every attack and counter he realized. His movement were like a tiger, frenetic, swift and precise. He made another air kick as his hand supported his body on the ground. His stances were wide and every time he moved his keep a hand beside him.

Ending his demonstration, Qishi took a deep breath as he broke his stance.

From behind, a clapping could be heard. The clapping came from the earthbender than watched and analyzed every movement made by the boy. "That was a good demonstration, I didn't expect to find something like this"

"Thank you, sir,"

"You are welcome" The earthbender nodded "Your technique was good and firm, the movement were both offensive and defensive with the aggressiveness combined with the preciseness. Every movement carried no more than the necessary weight. Although, the style seems to swift and fluid for an earthbending style"

"Yeah, it is for something else"

"Really?"

"Yeah, but thanks for your feedback sir" He then moved to grab his stuff "Thank you for your time"

"No problem, kid"

"Sir!" Another earthbender appeared from the ground beside them "There is troublemakers playing with the delivery system"

"What?!"

"Yes sir, it appears to be 3 kids sliding through the tube on top of a cart"

"Follow then immediately!"

"Yes sir!"

The earthbender then turned to Qishi "Sorry, kid. You have to go"

"Okay" Qishi walked away. He walked for a bit and then entered an alleyway. When he saw nobody was watching he facepalmed himself knowing who were the troublemakers that they were talking about. "Five minutes! I leave them alone for 5 minutes and they already alerted the entire city of our presence" He then sighed heavily "I just hope this doesn't become a common occurrence" Qishi walked out of the alleyway and turned to the big palace on top of the city. "They probably send them there for their trial, better find a way to enter" He started running towards the building.

* * *

"Well, no point arguing about it now. Get some rest, Aang. Looks like you'll need it for tomorrow." Katara said as she climbed to her bed.

After the king discovered that Aang was not only an airbender but also the Avatar, he said that the Avatar will face three deadly challenges for their freedom. Aang agreed to the challenges and the king sent them to the chamber they are now sleeping on.

Suddenly, a hole appeared on the ground beside them. Qishi came out of the hole and quietly entered the room.

"Qishi!" Aang exclaimed

"_Shh_" Qishi hushed Aang with his hand and approached the group. "_Be quiet, the guards might be around_. _Oh! And also_" He smacked Aang in the head with his fist.

"_What was that for?!_" Aang silently exclaimed

"_You know why"_

"_You need to get us out of here"_ Sokka whispered.

"_Easier said than done_" Qishi looked around "_There is more guards than I expected, each one is a master earthbender, even I can't handle than much_, _and I don't think I can't get out that easily_"

"_Then what do we do?_" Sokka asked

"_I will pass the challenges the king offered us_" Aang said

"_Challenges?_"

"_The king said that if Aang passes three deadly challenges, he will release us_" Katara explained

"_Good_" Qishi nodded "_I will go back to Appa and come here in the morning to secretly help you with the challenges_"

"_Sound like a plan_"

"_Good night_" Qishi then entered the same tunnel he made before and closed it behind.

* * *

**Next Day**

The morning arrived quickly. The room is only dimly lit, casting a somewhat green glow. The wall behind Aang opens, revealing a guard. The crunching sound of the earth being moved wakes Aang, who quickly raises his head and glances around.

"Sokka?" He looks around and find the beds beside him empty "Katara?" He then turns towards the guard "Where are my friends?"

"The king will free them if you complete your challenges" The guard said

"And if I fail?"

"He didn't say" The guard then extents his hand to the Avatar "Your staff, please?"

Aang lifts his staff with his foot, grabs it, and spins it around, places it upright next to him, before tossing it to the guard.

"Follow me" The guard then walks away with Aang following him.

After walking for a bit, they entered a chamber with the king dressed in a weird pink outfit.

"First, Avatar" The king started "What do you think of my new outfit? I want your honest opinion" The room was silence for a moment "I'm waiting"

"I ... guess it's fine"

"Excellent! You passed the first test"

"Really?"

"Well, not one of the deadly tests. The real challenges are much more, uh, challenging"

Aang's expression turned to an aggressive one as he ran with enhanced speed and stopped in front of the king "I don't have time for your crazy games! Give me my friends back! We're leaving!"

"Oh, I thought you might refuse" A wall opens, revealing Katara and Sokka struggling in the grasp of a guard. Aang turns to them. "So, I will give your friends some special souvenirs" The guards placed crystal rings on Katara and Sokka's fingers. The ring glows and tightens around their fingers "Those delightful rings are made of pure Jennamite, also known as creeping crystal. It's a crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible thing, really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate" Then the king remembered something "Uh, before I forget" He snapped his fingers. From behind, a guard carrying a coffin-shaped metal box appeared, in the box, the face of Qishi could be seen.

"Qishi" The three shouted

"We found him yesterday trying to escape from the castle" The king started "Quite skillful I might add. It took a dozen of guards to catch him"

"Sorry guys, I can't do anything here" Qishi said from inside the metal box

"I'll do what you want." Aang furiously stated

* * *

After Aang passed the first and second test. The king moved the group to an earthbending arena. Aang and the king are on a balcony overlooking the arena, Sokka and Katara along with a guard are on an adjacent balcony. The crystals are past their heads, leaving their faces exposed. Qishi was beside them in his metal box staring to the arena.

"Your final test is a duel. And as a special treat, you may choose your opponent!" The king exclaimed

From behind, two tough looking guys appeared and landed beside the king.

"Point and choose"

"So ... you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?"

"Choose wisely!"

"I…. choose…." Aang trailed of

"Aang! I know what you are thinking! Don't do it! trust me!"

"You" Aang ignored Qishi's words and pointed with his finger to the king.

"Dammit!" Qishi shouted

"Wrong choice!" The king exclaimed. The king straightens up and removes his outer robe, proving himself to be a powerfully built old man. He earthbends Aang off of the balcony, making him fly into the arena. The king jumps down right in front of Aang, and laughs "You thought I was a frail old man, but I'm the most powerful earthbender you'll ever see"

"Fucking knew it!" Qishi shouted

"Can I fight the guy with the axe instead?" Aang asked

"There are no take-backsies in my kingdom. You might need this." He points to the guard standing near Katara and Sokka. The guard tosses Aang his staff.

The king bends several rocks at Aang who just avoids and evades the attacks.

"Typical airbender tactic: avoid and evade. I hoped the Avatar would be less predictable" The king attacks Aang some more. Aang just keeps avoiding and evading. "Don't you have any surprises for me? Sooner or later you'll have to strike back!"

Aang uses his staff to helicopter into the air. The king bends a large boulder into the ceiling, raining rocks onto Aang, knocking him from the air. He charges at the king on foot, but a series of bending attacks leaves him flat atop a large rock pile

"You'll have to be a little more creative than that!"

Aang bends an air ball and charges forward on it. He then throws a huge air blast at the king as he comes. The king throws up a stone barrier and the blast deflects to both sides of it.

"Did someone leave the windows open? It feels a little drafty in here. Are you hoping I'll catch a cold?"

"That's probably the only way Aang could defeat him" Qishi added

The king bends more attacks at Aang, leading him across half of the arena. Meanwhile, Qishi on his box started concentrating.

"Come on, come on" He muttered. A small rock beside him started levitating, he moved his head and other small rocks started surrounding the one he levitated. The rock joined and turned into a medium sized rock.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" The guard beside him shouted. Moving his face, the rock was launched towards the guard. The guard was unprepared for the attack and was knocked when the rock hit his face.

Qishi gritted his teeth as the rock was tore apart into small square plates. Qishi turned red by the huge effort he was using to bend with his face. The square plates moved to the top of the metal box and started breaking it.

The metal box's top broke releasing Qishi. He felt to the ground panting heavily. Taking some time to recover, he earthbends himself towards the arena landing beside Aang.

"Qishi!" Aang excitedly shouted "How did you do that?!"

"No time!" He instantly replied "Let's focus of the king"

"What a capable earthbender you are, young one" The king complimented "But you think you can face me with your actual power?"

"Don't know" He stood in a firm stance "Let's find out" He earthbends a boulder and threw it towards the king.

The earthbending king simply put his hand in the middle of the boulder and it instantly turns into dust.

"You can't defeat me by throwing pebbles, young earthbender" The king states

"Yeah, but I can work as a distraction" Qishi said

Then the king noticed that Aang wasn't there. Turning upwards he saw the Avatar coming to him with his staff.

The king jumped backwards to evade. Qishi ran forward and jumped when he was close to Aang. He punched the ground when he landed and earthbends the ground by throwing a barrage towards the king.

The king replies by kicking the ground throwing the same barrage. The barrages crashes released a dust cloud in the arena.

Aang sliced through the dust could with his staff and started attack the earthbending king at with close combat. Qishi supported him by throwing rocks from behind. The old king jumps and then takes a deep breath.

Making more bending moves, cracking the floors and walls of the arena, the king tears out a huge chunk of the wall and balcony they had been standing on. Seeing what is coming, Aang gasps and runs in tight circles, conjuring a tornado while Qishi hides underground. When the king flings the huge piece at Aang, it is caught in the tornado and instantly whips around right back at the king. The king bends it to sand before it can smash him, but before he can recover, Aang attacks from the top of the tornado, landing at the king's feet with his staff poised to strike. The king's arms are raised as if surrendering but a small pebble strikes Aang's head, drawing his attention to the large boulder suspended over the both of them. The boulder gets destroyed when Qishi appears from behind the king with his own boulder.

"Well done, Avatar and friend. You both fight with much fire in your heart" The king compliments and bends up to the balcony where the two siblings are almost completely encased. Aang joins him with Qishi "You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question"

"That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests" Aang complained

"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"

"Just…... answer the question" Qishi falls to the ground and lays on his back "I am too tired to bend anything"

"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free. What ... is my name? From the looks of your friends I'd say you only have a few minutes" He leaves.

"How am I supposed to know his name?" Aang grumbled

"Think about the challenges. Maybe it's some kind of riddle" Katara replied

"I got it!" Sokka interjected "He's an earthbender, right? Rocky. You know, because of all the rocks"

There was a small silence and then Qishi spoke "Sokka, you are lucky I am too tired to hit you. If not, I would've beat the shit out of you"

"Okay. So back to the challenges. I got a key from the waterfall, I saved his pet, and I had a duel" Aang continued

"And what did you learn?"

"Well, everything was different than I expected"

"Well, they weren't straight forward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would. I know his name."

* * *

After coming with an answer, Aang confronted the king.

"I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges. As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities" Aang stated as the king laughed "Bumi, you're a mad genius" Then, the two hugged like old friend

"Ooooh" Qishi started "That's why the name sounded familiar, it was Bumi, the king of Omashu"

"Uh, over here!" Katara shouted

Bumi uses earthbending and breaks making pieces fly everywhere. He catches two of them. "Jennamite is made of rock candy." He bites the rock "Delicious" He them throws the other piece to Qishi "Try some, young earthbender"

"Okay" Qishi bites the crystal and widened his eyes "You were right, it is delicious!"

"So, this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?" Katara inquired

"Who are you calling old? Okay, I'm old" Bumi replied

"Why did you do all of this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asked

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people" Bumi snorted

"Yes, it is" Qishi laughed

"But I do have a reason. Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years that you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius. And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation" Momo climbs up to Aang's shoulder "And you'll need Momo, too"

"Thank you for your wisdom, but before we leave, I have a challenge for you" Aang stated with a playful smile

"Sure, but first" He clapped his fingers and the door opened revealing the earthbender Qishi met that day. He was carrying a box in his hands.

"You!" Qishi exclaimed

"That's right kid" The earthbender nodded "Your name is Qishi, right?" The boy nodded "My name is Yanshi, captain of the earthbender of Omashu, nice to properly meet you"

"Nice to meet you too, sir" Qishi bowed

"Here, it is a parting gift" The captain gave Qishi the box he was carrying.

Opening the box, Qishi found dozens of scrolls with the symbol of earth. "Earthbending scrolls?"

"Not any kind of scrolls, young earthbender" Bumi interjected "Advanced earthbending scrolls for earthbending masters, a parting gift for you"

"Thank you, sir!" Qishi bowed

"Don't worry, young one" Bumi turned to Aang "Now, what is that challenge you have for me?"

Aang smiled widely.


	4. Chapter 4: A Few Steps Closer

**Greetings fellow readers, MasterW here.**

**Guess who's back. Its been a long time, sorry for leaving, many familiars event to attend to. If you are a follower of my other stories as much as this one, do not worry, they will come soon. Any suggestions, opinions, etc, don't forget to review them or PM me. Don't forget to Follow, Fav or review if you like this or any or my stories.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: A Few Steps Closer**

Resting on rocks wasn't as comfortable at all, but with the help of an earthbender, the soil can become soft and more bearable.

That was the situation of Team Avatar. After traveling from Omashu through the Earth Kingdom, they decided to rest and relax.

Eating the food brought by Qishi, the group ate until their stomachs were filled, which was a lot, considering all of them were growing kids.

"Ahh" Sokka rubbed his filled stomach "Gotta say, you made the great decision of buying food on Omashu"

"Of course," Qishi replied while saving the rest of the food for later "You really thought that traveling long distances with the Avatar with minimum amount of food would work? We are lucky King Bumi gave us more food and money for later in the trip. Still, we need to buy food for later, this food will last us for at least 3 days"

"Good" Aang stood "We need to find a town then"

"I think there is one close" Qishi complemented

*BOOM*

"What in the spirits was that?!" Sokka exclaimed.

Momo immediately jumped to Qishi's shoulder and everyone perked up to the sound, even Appa.

*BOOM*

"Judging by the sound, it was close" Katara turned to the group "Let us check" She stood and ran towards the sound with Qishi and Aang following behind

"Shouldn't we run away from huge booms? Not towards them?"

"Come on Sokka, where is your warrior spirit?" Qishi teased

"Fine" Sokka reluctantly stood and followed the group.

The four, joined by Momo, hid behind a fallen tree and found a young boy bending boulders into the air and punching them into the side of the ravine.

"An earthbender?" Katara inquired

"No Katara, he is obviously a waterbender, don't you see how he bends the water with his hands?" Qishi sarcastically replied

"Oh, Ha Ha" Katara sarcastically laughed

"Let's go meet him!" Aang suggested

"He looks dangerous, so we better approach cautiously"

"Yeah Katara" Qishi replied while grabbing Katara by the neck of her clothes "Where do you think you are going?"

"I was going to say hello"

"Never greet like that an earthbender while he is practicing, it's dangerous" He released Katara and stood "Let me show you"

Qishi walked towards the boy and with his first made an earth wall that appeared beside the young earthbender. The earthbending boy stopped bending and looked around.

The earthbending boy turned to Qishi with raised eyebrows.

"You are an earthbender too?"

"Of course," Qishi walked towards the boy and extended his hand "Qishi"

"Haru, nice to meet you"

Qishi nodded and turned to his friends "It is safe, come out"

The Team Avatar walked out of the long and moved towards the two earthbender

"Friends?" Haru asked

"Yeah, this are Katara, Sokka and Aang. Guys this is Haru"

"Nice to meet you" Katara waved,

"Nice to meet you too" Haru replied

"So," Qishi started, "We have been wondering if there is a village around here to buy food and other supplies"

"Of course, follow me" Haru instructed "But I must warn you, hide everything you about me practicing earthbending, especially my mom"

Qishi raised his eyebrow "Why?"

"You will see"

* * *

After following Haru they arrived to a mining village.

Katara and Sokka stroll through the mining village's streets while Aang speaks with a shopkeeper under a terrace.

"Great hat!" Aang said trying a hat

"It is surprising that apparently a fruit vendor also sells hats" Qishi said while walking with

"Here people sell everything everywhere" Haru stood outside what seemed like an herbs store "Here we are, my mother's store, remember what I told you about earthbending"

"Right" Qishi nodded

The group entered the store closing the door behind them. It was dark and made of wood all around, on the reception and old woman arranging some boxes

"Hi mom" Haru greeted the lady

"Where have you been, Haru? You're late! Get started on your chores"

"Sorry mom, I meet some travelers along the way, they needed to buy some supplies so I brought them here"

"Nice to meet ma'am, I'm Qishi"

"Hi, I'm Katara"

"Sokka"

"Aang, nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Hana, Haru's mother and owner of this store. If you look for supplies then you have come to the right place. Now, what do you-"

"Open up!" A heavy knock pounded from the door

Sokka peeked through the window's blinds and saw Fire Nation soldiers waiting outside "Fire Nation! Act natural!"

Hana opens the door, allowing the Fire Nation soldier to walk inside. He stares awkwardly at the four children in front of him. Haru grasps his chin and stares toward Katara, cross-eyed. Sokka eyeballs an apple. Katara hunches forward with her eyes wide open, having stuffed her mouth with berries. Aang has his hand atop a barrel, beaming an immense toothy smile. His pose is short-lived as the barrel's lid spins, dunking Aang's hand into the barrel of water and causes him to fall down. Meanwhile, Qishi was just leaning against the counter like nothing happened, ignoring the ridiculous act of his companions

"What do you want? I've already paid you this week!" Hana rudely started

"The tax just doubled" Fire Nation soldier arrogantly stated "And we wouldn't want an accident, now would we?" He starts manipulating a fireball on his hands, the ball shines making everyone step back "Fire is sometimes so hard to control"

Behind them, Qishi was clenching his first ready to bury the fire nation soldier alive. He isn't new to brutality, after all, he had to take care of a few thug and fire nation soldiers on his path to keep his identity hidden, and most importantly, he was trained by the group of assassin warriors of Kyoshi. He doesn't use murder very much, it's been a long time since he took a life for the first time and he knows sometimes it is necessary, especially with the world in a state of war. What is another body to the pile?

'Not now' Qishi thought to himself releasing his fist and calming himself.

Haru's mother and the Fire Nation soldier approach the store's counter, where she opens a small chest and passes a meager handful of Earth Kingdom currency to the tax collector. Haru leans against the counter alongside Qishi, staring with contempt toward the Fire Nation man.

"You can keep the copper ones" The Fire Nation soldier walks away, dropping four copper pieces to the floor, exits the store closing the door behind him.

Hana kneels to pick the coins but Qishi stops her and picks the coins himself "Here"

"Thank you, young man" Hana showed a grateful smiled towards Qishi

"Nice guy. How long has the Fire Nation been here?" Sokka asks

"Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships" Hana replied

"They're thugs. They steal from us. And everyone here's too much of a coward to do anything about it." Haru complained

"Quiet, Haru! Don't talk like that"

"But, Haru's an earthbender! He can help!" Katara interjected

Hana's eyes narrowed towards the waterbender "How do you know?"

"Well…we…um"

"We saw him earthbending" Qishi finished without stuttering and crossing his arms "And I am an earthbender too" He bended a couple of rock on his hand

"Earthbending is forbidden. It's caused nothing but misery for this village!" Haru's mother exclaimed "You are not from here, if they catch you earthbending then you will go to prison, just like Tyro" She spoke the last part looking to the ground sad. "He must never use his abilities"

"How can you say that? Haru has a gift! Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend. It's a part of who we are"

"You don't understand" Hana shook her head in negation

"I understand" Qishi firmly stated "And this is pure bullshit!"

"Language!" Aang exclaimed

Qishi ignored Aang and turned to Hana and Haru "If no one is going to do anything about it, then I will" He turned to Haru "Do you know where I can buy strong fishnets?"

"Umm, in the port, I think"

"Good" Qishi then turned to Aang "How much weight can Appa hold?"

"About double than his own, I think"

"Good enough" He walked towards the door "I am taking Appa, I will not stay here a do nothing"

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Katara asked

"Fixing the problem, I have a plan" He turned to Sokka "We will be kicking some Fire Nation's ass, wanna join?"

"Count me in" Sokka cheered

"I am going too" Aang followed

"Don't leave me behind" Katara followed

* * *

"You know, when you said you had a plan, I did not imagine this" Sokka stated

"And what did you imagine?" Qishi replied

"Everything, Everything besides this!"

"Stop whining, show some bravado, oh mighty Water Tribe Warrior"

"Oh, Ha Ha"

Sokka was suspended in a roped tied to Appa's saddle. Under Appa, a fishnet as big as Appa with big rocks. Appa carried Qishi, Katara, Aang and Haru, who joined without his mother knowing.

Appa flew through the sky carrying the big fishnet filled with big rocks that Haru and Qishi earthbended together.

Qishi predicted that there was a transport to the prison to move supplies like food and fresh water that couldn't be found in the middle of the sea. So, with Appa, they followed the metal ship towards the prison.

"I see it" Qishi stated watching the prison at the distance using his binoculars. "Be ready Sokka"

"I am!" Sokka took his machete and pointed it to the net

"Can you tell me what we are supposed to do again?" Aang asked

"We will release the net filled with rocks in the middle of the prison, then we will use the rocks and the help of the earthbenders inside we will tear the Fire Nation soldier a new one"

"Can you phrase it less morbid?"

"NO TIME"

"You guys are crazy"

"And it's only Wednesday" Qishi joked "Now Sokka!"

Right on cue, Sokka sliced the net with his machete, making the big rocks fall all over the prison.

The group descended with Appa and landed on the prison's courtyard. Qishi quickly took position and threw big rocks towards the guards knocking them out instantly, Haru did the same and Aang attacked using his wind.

"What is going on?!" An old man with gray hair and grey beard but he then turned to Haru and his eyes widened "Haru?"

"Dad!" Haru exclaimed and ran towards the old man hugging him. The old man was surprised by still hugged back the young earthbender

"Haru" He ended the hug "What are you doing here?"

"We came here to release you" Qishi interjected "Nice to meet you sir, you must be Tyro, my name is Qishi. I would like to talk but we've got Fire Nation soldier to beat"

"Right, follows us dad!" Haru stated and started earthbending rocks towards the Firebenders

"We can't" Tyro stated.

Qishi turned and watched the other Earthbenders hesitant to move from their spots. "Guys, cover me"

"Got it"

Qishi turned to the Earthbenders with determination on their eyes "Listen! We can't defeat them alone, but together we can, we have the Avatar on our side, we can do this! Stop doing nothing and start fighting!"

His small rallying speech accompanied by the fact that Aang, Katara, Sokka and Haru keep fighting behind him seemed to do the trick.

The Earthbenders started using the big rocks around them to attack the Firebenders making them retreat.

Qishi joins and immediately uses Earthbending to strike a guard on the stomach, some tried to attack him in close distance using the large spears, but Qishi disarm the guard and throws the spear to another guard, stabbing it on the shoulder.

"ARRGH" The guard screamed in pain

The Earthbenders cornered the Firebenders. Tyro and Haru work in unison to compress gathered rocks into one lump, slinging this through the doors to destroy them. The guards on top of the walls fall to the sea.

"Get to the ships!" Tyro ordered

"Get to Appa too" Qishi added

"Don't let them escape" An old warden ordered while attacking with fire

Qishi evaded the fire and throw two rocks to the hand of the warden. The rocks became handcuff that trapped the warden's hands. Tyro and Haru knocked other guards that came to aid their commander. Qishi threw another two rocks to the warden's feet and it fell to the ground when they joined to trap his feet.

"Good idea, young earthbender" Tyro complemented as he used the same strategy to trap another guard. "Everyone, trap the soldiers" Tyro commanded

The Earthbenders started trapping the Firebenders the same way as Qishi and Tyro, after half an hour, most of the Firebenders were trapped, the rest fell to the edge of the prison into the sea. The ones that were captured were thrown to the isolation cells in the prison.

"We won!" The earthbenders cheered

* * *

After a while, the Earthbenders left the prison and ride into ships, Appa swimming alongside them.

Qishi stood on the deck of the ship, with Tyro and Haru.

"Thank you, Qishi. You save us all" Haru started

"No worries, it was everyone's effort, all it took was a little push"

"And that push gave us hope" Tyro continued "You showed us that we can fight, that we can defeat them!" He shouted and the crowd in other boats followed. "How about you come with us, another earthbender of your level could work in our ranks"

"Sorry, but no" Qishi shook his head and turned to Aang "I have my own mission, there is something I need to find, and only beside the Avatar I have the chance to do it"

"I see" Tyro turned to Aang, who was playing with Momo on Appa's head "Well, I hope you find what you need to find, you and your friends will always be welcomed in our village"

"Thanks" Qishi smiled but then remembered something "By the way, when you see Hana, give her this" He took a medium size sack from his bag and gave it to Haru.

Haru watched curiously the bag and open it, inside were dozens of gold coins of the Earth Kingdom currency. "Where did you get this?!" Haru couldn't help but ask

"Before we leaving the prison, I gave the treasury a small visit. I am sure inside the ships are a couple of security boxes with money inside, it will help your group well"

"Thank you Qishi"

"No problem" He jumped from the ship to Appa's saddle landing beside Aang

"You know, you could be a very good Avatar" Aang complimented Qishi

"Nah, I am fine"

"It can't be" Katara shouted from behind

"What's the matter?"

"I can't find my mother necklace, it's gone!"

* * *

**The Next Day **

"Those clouds look so soft" Katara looked to the clouds under Appa. "Don't they? Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft, cottony heap?"

After leaving Haru and his father, the group continued their trip towards the North Water Tribe. Aang sitting lazily atop Appa's head, a twig in his mouth. Katara looked down to the clouds beneath them. Sokka carving something in wood with an uninterested look on his face. Qishi read the earthbending scroll while resting on Appa's saddle with Momo resting on his stomach.

"Maybe you should give it a try?" Sokka suggested

"You're hilarious" Katara replied

"I'll try it!" Aang grabbed his staff and jumped off Appa with a smile on his face. He fell to the clouds disappearing on them. Katara and Sokka looked down to where Aang disappeared while Qishi was concentrated in his reading. After some seconds Aang fall to the saddle with his clothes wet. "Turns out, clouds are made of water"

"Well, if we ever need water while riding Appa, we can always use the clouds" Qishi added not looking away from his scroll.

"Hey, what is that?"

The group turns to the forest beneath them where a giant black spot was visible

"It's like a scar ..." Sokka grimly added

* * *

"Listen" Katara starts. After landing with Appa on the black spot, they saw a burned forest all around them "It's so quiet. There's no life anywhere"

Sokka analyses some footprints alongside Qishi, the two make eye contact having a mental conversation about the culprit. The two kids nod at the same time signaling they had the same idea.

"Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for-" "Shh" Katara stopped Sokka's ranting

"What? I'm not allowed to be angry?"

"Learn how to read the mood, Sokka" Qishi stated pointing to Aang. The two decided to stay quiet while Katara walked towards Aang

Aang slumps down to the ground and sighs with sorrow "Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?"

"Aang, you didn't let this happen. It has nothing to do with you"

"Yes, it does. It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But I don't know how to do my job"

"That's why we're going to the North Pole. To find you a teacher"

"Yeah. A waterbending teacher. But there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me"

"The Avatar before you? He died over a hundred years ago; how are you supposed to talk to him?" Sokka finally interjected

"Well, to be fair, Avatar are known for having the power to enter the Spirit World and come back, so maybe there is way"

"Yeah, but I don't know how to do that"

Katara, who was checking something on the ground stood with a smile on her face "Hey, Aang! You ready to be cheered up?"

"No" Katara throws him an acorn "Ow! Hey, how is that cheering me up?"

"Cheered me up" Sokka laughed, receiving a smack courtesy of Qishi "Yeah, probably deserved that"

"These acorns are everywhere, Aang. That means the forest will grow back! Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday, and all the birds and animals that lived here will come back." Katara explained

"Thanks, Katara"

Qishi quickly turned to someone approaching, it was an old man with a walking stick "Someone is coming"

The group turned to the old man and everyone stood "Hey, who are you?" Sokka asked

"When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible! But, those markings ... are you the Avatar, child? My village desperately needs your help!" The old man replied

Aang nodded

* * *

The group was guided by the old man towards his village, Senlin. In there, they saw destroyed buildings.

"This young person is the Avatar!" The old man presented the group to the leader of the villagers

"So, the rumors of your return are true! It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence." The leader of the village greeted the group.

"Nice to meet you too! So ... is there something I can help you with?" Aang asked

"I'm not sure ..." The leader of the village shook his head

"Well, that is a good start" Qishi joked received a jab from Katara "Sorry"

"For the last few days at sunset, a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei Bai, the black and white spirit." The old man explained

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka asked

"We do not know, but each of the last three nights, he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near." The leader of the village explained

"What happens then?" Katara asked

"As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the Spirit World grow closer and closer until the line between them is blurred completely, it that time, spirits roam the natural world like they did a long time ago" Surprising everyone, Qishi replied while reading a small notebook he took from his bag

"How do you know that?"

"I have been studying spirits for some time" Qishi replied while looking for something on his notebook

"Hei Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here, there's no telling what will happen"

"So, what do you want me to do, exactly?"

"Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the Spirit World than the Avatar himself? You are the great bridge between man and spirits"

"Right ... that's me"

"Hey great bridge guy, could I talk to you over here for a second?" Katara signals to Aang, the two kids move to the window far from the leader of the village "You seem a little unsure about all of this"

"Yeah, that might be because I don't know anything at all about the Spirit World. It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff!"

"So ... can you help these people?"

"I have to try, don't I? Maybe whatever I have to do will just ... come to me"

"I think you can do it, Aang."

"Yeah" Sokka added, but there was a brief pause of uncertainty "We're all going to get eaten by a spirit monster"

"Or worse" Qishi added

"Not helping"

"Neither are you"

* * *

Aang stood in the entrance of the village with his staff by his side.

"Hello, Spirit? Can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm here to try to help stuff"

Inside the village's main building, the rest of the group stared to Aang.

"This isn't right. We can't sit here and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up" Sokka complained

"If you want to be eaten by a spirit monster, sure go ahead" Qishi added received a glare from Sokka

"If anyone can save us, he can" The leader replied

"He still shouldn't have to face this alone" Sokka crossed his arms

The sun sets and night falls.

"The sun has set. Where are you, Hei Bai? Well ... spirit ... uhhh ... I hereby ask you to please leave this village in peace." He spins his staff with apparent authority "Okay ... well ... I guess that's settled, then"

He walks away. Behind him, however, the Hei Bai fades into the real world. He walks right behind Aang, who turns to see him.

"What the fuck is that?!" Qishi shouted from the main building "It looks like a panda ate a deformed dog!"

"You must be the Hei Bai spirit. My name is-"

*BAAM*

Hei Bei releases a burst of energy at him. It moves past him.

"My name's Aang! I'm the Avatar and I would like to help. Hey, wait up!" Hei Bai wreaks havoc, smashing buildings and destroying a tower with energy. "Uhm"

"The Avatar's methods are ... unusual." The leader of the village commented

"It doesn't seem too interested in what he's saying. Maybe we should go help him."

Aang's tries to call for Hei Bei's attention failed miserably

"I am going to help" Sokka walked out of the door and rushed towards Aang

"Sokka wait?"

"Sokka, go back!" Aang commanded

"We'll fight him together, Aang" Sokka replied, out of nothing, Hei Bei grabbed Sokka and ran towards the forest

"Sokka!" Both Katara and Qishi shouted

Hei Bei disappeared in the forest with Sokka, Aang following

* * *

After 24 hours. Aang appeared again and confronted Hei Bei and with an acorn, he resolved the problem. Hei Bei turned back into a panda.

"So, I was right, it was a panda" Qishi commented

Sokka and the other people kidnapped by Hei Bei were returned and everyone was happy.

"Thank you, Avatar. If only there were a way to repay you for what you've done" The village leader offered

"Supplies, food and money" Sokka and Qishi replied at the same time

"It would be an honor to help you on your journey"

"I'm so proud of you, Aang. You figured out what to do, all on your own." Katara complimented the small Avatar

"Actually, I did have a little help and there's something else."

"What is it?"

"I need to talk to Roku and I think I found a way to contact his spirit"

"That's great!"

"There's a temple on a crescent-shaped island and if I go there on the solstice, I'll be able to speak with him"

"But the solstice is tomorrow"

"Yeah, and there's one more problem. The island is in the Fire Nation"

* * *

**The Next Day**

"We made it!" Aang exclaimed.

The group decided to travel towards the Fire Nation to reach Avatar Roku's temple. The group passed through a barricade made by Fire Nation ships and evaded giant fire ball threw towards them. Qishi and Aang took a few of them head on with Qishi breaking the ones that tried to hit the sides of Appa.

Now the group flew for some time, the sky turning yellow thanks to the sunset and the ashes of a volcano in the sky.

"There it is! The island where Roku's dragon took me" Aang pointed to a crescent island with a volcano in the middle.

Appa descent to the base of a stone bridge and the group jumped off his saddle.

Qishi the moment he touched the ground felt something stir beneath him. He felt the movement of the magma around him, the heat produced, everything. He felt stronger, like he could destroy everything one his path with a simple wave of his hand.

"Is something wrong Qishi?" Katara asked

Qishi didn't notice, but he stood there for a couple of seconds, assimilating the new feeling he received. "Huh, nothing" He quickly followed the group

The team walked the stone bridge and arrived to the Fire temple.

"I don't see any guards" Aang commented

"The Fire Nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died"

The group enters the temple slowly arriving to a hall with fire-decored columns

"Wait. I think I heard something" Sokka spoke

Turning around, they see five men standing in the hallway dressed in red with tall hats. "We are the Fire Sages. Guardians of the temple of the Avatar"

"We know." The Fire Sage Inhales briskly before punching a blast of fire their direction.

Aang and Qishi defended with Aang using his airbending to dispel the fire and Qishi using a stone wall to protect himself and his friends, but the stone wall was as thin as a sheet of paper. So, it was destroyed immediately.

"Let's run" Qishi orders and starts running to another direction

Aang leaps forward and spins his leg across the ground, sending a low air blade that sweeps the Fire Sages' legs out from beneath them, and they all fall to the ground. Aang flees after his friends.

"If the Avatar contacts Roku, there's no telling how powerful the boy will become! Split up and find him" The Fire Sage ordered

The quartet plus Momo runs through the corridors of the temple. They turn another corner and charges down the hallway. However, they reach a dead-end as Aang skids to an immediate halt. Turning around, they face a Fire Sage, who raises a hand in peace.

"I don't want to fight you! I am a friend" The Fire Sage spoke

"Firebenders are not our friends" Sokka replied while in a defensive position

"My name is Shyu and I know why you're here, Avatar" The Fire Sage introduced himself

"You do?"

"You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him"

"How?"

Shyu slides back a lamplight on the wall. Places palm on wall, focuses firebending into this location to open a secret passage "This way"

"Of course, secret passages" Qishi commented

"Time is running out! Quickly!"

The quartet plus Momo entered the secret passage with Shyu closing it behind them. They walked a pool of magma, one which Qishi felt strong connection to. He felt the same as before, but this time it was stronger, the feeling cruised through his veins, every step closer he took to the magma, he felt invincible.

The group walk through the caverns with Shyu guiding them "Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages out of the magma"

"Wait, he could bend magma?" Qishi asked

"Yes, he could" Shyu nodded

"Interesting" Qishi went inside his thoughts

"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked

"No, but my grandfather knew him. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this Fire Temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place"

"Is that how you knew I was coming?"

"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku; its eyes began to glow!"

"Didn't that happened in the Air Temple you told me about?" Qishi inquired

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened"

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world" Shyu continued

"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the sages attack me?"

"Things have changed. In the past, the sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the sages eagerly waited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came"

Aang looks down with guilt on his eyes. "They were waiting for me"

"Don't feel bad, you are just 100 years late" Sokka joked receiving a scowling glare from Aang "Not fair, Qishi jokes all the time and he get away with it"

"Because mine are funnier"

"They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozin began the War, my grandfather and the other sages were forced to follow him" Shyu continued his tale "I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other sages"

"Thank you for helping me" Aang smiled towards Shyu

They walked for a while in a round of stairs. Shyu slides back a secret tile and climbs into the outer sanctuary. Massive columns with dragon statues atop them line the room. An immense door is before them with a device holding five open-mouthed dragons.

As Shyu approaches the door, he gasps "No!"

"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang asked the Sage

"The sanctuary doors, they're closed!"

"Can't you just open them with firebending? Like you opened that other door?" Katara asked

"No. Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise, the sages must open this door together with five simultaneous fire blasts"

"Can you do something Qishi?" Katara turned to the earthbender

"I am an earthbender, I can't bend metal. And the floor is more metal than earth, I could barely collect enough earth to bend that stone wall against the Fire Sages. There is only earth in the middle of the tiles that I can use, and I don't think that is enough"

"Five fire blasts, huh?" Sokka ponders "I think I can help you out" Sokka starts gathering material from his bag and move them around "This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil-soaked twine and" He picks up the bag, holds it proudly before him "ta-da! Fake firebending!"

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka" Katara compliments her brother

"I think it could work" Aang stated

"50-50" Qishi added

"The sages will hear the explosion, so as soon as they go off, you rush in!" Shyu replied

The ground ran to a column as the explosives were set. There is an intense explosion, producing a lot of smoke. Aang bursts forward and runs for the door. Aang strains to open the door, which has not budged.

"They're still locked!" Aang complained

"It didn't work" Shyu regretful stated

Qishi stares at the door for a couple of minutes and the snap his fingers "But at the same time, it did"

"What do you mean?" Shyu inquired

Qishi turned to the Sage "Shyu, go to the other Fire Sages and tell them the Avatar managed to enter the chamber"

"What do you mean, Aang haven't…" Sokka was going to complain but then the realization kicked in "You deceitful bastard. That´s smart"

"I get it, I will go get the Sages" Shyu replied

"Wait, what are we doing?" Aang didn't know what was the plan

"We are going to deceive the Fire Sages making them thing you are inside the chamber and then when they open it, we will ambush them and you will go in immediately"

"Ohh" Aang facepalmed "That is genius"

"Come, let's hid by the columns" He signaled as he moved with his friends "Momo, can you enter and make shadow"

*SKRIT*

Momo chirred as it entered the dragon's mouth and appeared the other side of the door.

Shyu came back with the other Fire Sages following him "Come quickly! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary!"

"How did he get inside?"

"I don't know. But look at the scorch marks! And down there!" He pointed to the shadow made by Momo on the other side of the door

"He's inside! Open the doors, immediately! Before he contacts Avatar Roku!"

"Be ready Aang" Qishi signaled his friend

Aang slides into position behind a nearby column as the five sages firebend the doors' locks open. As the door opens, a sooty Momo is revealed sitting on the floor. Momo sneezes, blowing the soot off himself.

"It's the Avatar's lemur. He must have crawled through the pipes! We've been tricked!"

Momo springs into action, leaping atop the Great Fire Sage's head and clinging to his hat. Katara charged forward, pulling a nearby sage's tunic over his head to blind him. Qishi hit one of the sages on the chin knocking him out and kicked the other on his lower parts.

"Why?" The Fire Sage silently cried before falling to the ground

Sokka waited for Momo to jump out of the Great Fire Sage's head and then used his weapon to knock him out

"Good work team" Qishi said while dusting his hands

"Now Aang!"

Aang steps out from behind column but the prince Zuko appeared and grips Aang from behind, pinning Aang's arms behind him. "The Avatar's coming with me! Close the doors! Quickly" The one that wasn't knocked out released himself from Katara's grip. The others woke up and followed the orders of the prince while a Fire Sage attacked Qishi who resisted.

Qishi using his fighting abilities evaded the attacks until he was cornered by the Sages. Meanwhile, Katara and Sokka were tied by a metal chain.

Aang breaks free from Zuko's hold, spinning behind the prince to send him down the stairs with an airbending blast. Aang runs for Katara and Sokka

"Go!" Katara motions towards the door

Aang listens without hesitation, turning to charge for the door guarded by two sages. He leaps into the air to avoid the Great Fire Sage's fire punch. Aang bounces off his hands from each of the two sage's heads before sailing through the door just as it closes.

"He made it!"

Everyone looks away as the door seals with a blinding flash of white light. Aang inside watched as a Roku statue was illuminated.

Outside the chambers, the team Avatar change the confrontation between Zuko and the now named General Zhao, who arrived shortly afterwards.

Firebenders, including Zhao and his crew, circle around the door's perimeter, assuming a firebending form. They wait patiently for the door to open

"When those doors open, unleash all your firepower!" General Zhao ordered

"How's Aang gonna make it out of this?" Katara asked

"How are we gonna make it out of this?" Sokka questioned

"Don't look at me, I am the same as you three" Qishi, who was tied the same as Katara, Sokka and Shyu stated with a bored tone.

The door glows bright white once again. Smoke streams come through into the room. The door unlocks itself, beginning to open. As it opens, a blinding white light forces all present to look away.

"Ready ..." The light fades, revealing a pair of glowing white eyes in the darkness "Fire!" He and his guards cooperate in blasting fire onto the glowing eyes in the smoke.

"No Aang!" Katara shouts while Qishi and Sokka tried to release themselves from the chains

The wall of fire amasses, showing not Aang, but Avatar Roku. Eyes aglow, he stands behind the flames, untouched and controlling the fire with perfect mastery

"Avatar Roku!" Shyu's eyes widened looking to the legendary figure

"Am I hallucinating by the heat?" Qishi asked

"If that is a hallucination then we are both imagining the same thing" Sokka replied

Avatar Roku draws the circling fire together in one motion. He sends it forward in one powerful wave that sears the room, blasting the Firebenders off their feet and melting the chains binding Katara, Sokka, Shyu, Qishi and Zuko with precision. The blast continues until it destroys the outer wall. Avatar Roku turns his glowing glare upon the traitorous Fire Sages. The sages panic, all turning to run from him.

"Avatar Roku is going to destroy the temple! We have to get out of here!" Shyu implored

"Not without Aang" Katara replied

Roku kneels into a forward strike, melting the floor with a molten firebending trail. He steadily lifts his hand, causing the stream of lava below to erupt into maddened explosions. The lava soars through the temple, tearing it apart. Zhao and his firebenders flee for the temple's exit.

"He… He is bending lava?!" Qishi stared the feat with widened eyes. He stood motionless there as Avatar Roku's spirit bended lava to his will.

Katara and Sokka huddle together, arm-in-arm, behind a column. Sokka kneels over his sister, protecting her in a brotherly fashion. The destruction ceases momentarily as Roku lowers his hands, exhaling soundly. The solstice' beam of sunlight is shown leaving his statue; its eyes no longer glow. As this happens all smoke in the room draws in upon Avatar Roku, his form disappearing to leave behind a weary Aang. Qishi breaks from his shocked state and stares into the figure of his friend.

Aang falls to his knees and Katara, Sokka and Qishi run to his aid.

"We've got you"

"Thanks. Where's Shyu?"

"I don't know"

They run out of the temple, leaping into Appa's saddle. They fly away on Appa, gazing back at the destruction behind. Momo pops up wearing the Great Fire Sage's hat.

Night time falls. Appa flies through the clouds. Aang with his head hung in a mourning state. Katara and Sokka stand and approach their friend, kneeling behind him to support him. Katara puts her hand around Aang's shoulders. Qishi places his hand on Aang's shoulder, giving a comforting rub.


End file.
